Chapter 298
It was a story, but not one easy to accept.
Chris had been able to subdue the Sword King because their duel was purely about swordsmanship.
If it had been a fight with full power unleashed, there was no way he could have won.
But now, he was talking about taking down the Beast King and Hwang Gong?
And to do that, he’d have to infiltrate the Triangular Alliance itself.
“It’s like walking into a tiger’s den to catch a monstrous tiger.”
An impossible task.
Yet Chris was resolute.
“I can do it.”
That meant he had something else in mind.
But Estanya’s expression was strange.
She looked at him with an unusual, serious gaze.
“Why? Are you really going to miss me when I leave? Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for me?”
“…Are you crazy? A rookie who can’t even drink isn’t my type. You’re pretty enough, but if you’re just a toy to play with, that’s another story.”
“Is that something a saint should say?”
Estanya scoffed, then grew serious.
“Actually, there’s something I need to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“Be careful of the Celestial Realm.”
“!!”
Chris flinched.
It was an unexpected warning.
“The Celestial Realm? You mean the constellations?”
“Yes.”
Estanya nodded gravely.
“Before I lost my mark, I heard a revelation from the constellations about you.”
“…About me?”
“Yes. It was a prophecy that you would become a great darkness and destroy the world.”
Chris made a bewildered face.
“What nonsense is that?”
“Yeah, I don’t believe it either. The you I’ve seen is arrogant, cocky, annoying, someone I’d want to punch—but not a villain who would destroy the world.”
Estanya continued seriously.
“Prophecies from the constellations aren’t always true, so I don’t trust it. But whether it’s true or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that the constellations see you that way.”
It was a meaningful statement.
“You know, right? The constellations aren’t always right. Sometimes, in the name of ‘justice,’ they don’t hesitate to commit terrible acts.”
If demons follow evil, the constellations follow justice.
But that justice wasn’t always pure good.
For the sake of a ‘greater cause,’ they sometimes demanded great sacrifices or committed horrific deeds.
“The case of the Blue Stream Demon King is a prime example. For the justice of the Celestial Realm, they abandoned the World Tree, forcing the Fairy Queen to sell her soul to a demon.”
Chris asked,
“Are you saying the constellations will take action against me?”
“No. As you know, demons and constellations cannot interfere with the mortal world due to the Covenant of the Dark Heavens. They can’t act directly. They’re just warning you to be cautious.”
The Covenant of the Dark Heavens.
Indeed, before the boundaries between the three realms collapse, neither the constellations nor demons can meddle in the mortal world.
All they can do is issue limited prophecies like this.
Even then, there are many restrictions.
For example, those who receive prophecies about Chris are limited in how much they can spread rumors.
“So, there’s no need to worry too much for now.”
Chris frowned.
“Me, the darkness that will destroy the world? What on earth is the Celestial Realm thinking?”
Either way, it was not good news.
“Understood. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Estanya sighed, her eyes clouded with complexity.
“Do you know why I became a skeptic? Because I couldn’t accept the constellations’ self-righteous justice.”
“…”
“More than that, I’ve realized something. The Celestial Realm is planning something ominous regarding the ‘fate’ of this world.”
“…What do you mean?”
Estanya shook her head.
“I don’t know the details. I only caught glimpses of the constellations’ will while receiving the prophecy.”
She spoke gravely.
“The constellations intend to drastically twist the ‘fate’ of this world for their justice.”
Chris fell silent for a moment.
‘…The Celestial Realm is scheming?’
In his previous life, the Celestial Realm hadn’t done much.
In the latter days of the Age of Destruction, when the boundaries between the three realms broke down, the Celestials and constellations descended to fight the demons and devils invading the mortal world—that was all.
But what if that wasn’t the whole story?
What if there was a hidden truth behind the world’s destruction that he didn’t know?
‘What on earth…’
There were too many questions.
Even the fact that the Blood Demon King destroyed the world was now in doubt.
‘The Demon King’s true intentions are a mystery.’
Chris realized anew.
The truth he’d seen before was just the tip of the iceberg.
A massive secret lurked behind the world.
Though many questions remained, there was one thing Chris had to uncover first.
“Do you know anything about the reversal of the timeline?”
“What do you mean? That time in the world is going backward?”
“Yes.”
Chris nodded.
‘First, I have to find out the secret behind my regression.’
All the answers to his questions would be tied to the truth of his return.
Maybe the Holy Empire held some clues.
‘First, I need to find out who sent me back.’
Only a handful in the world could cause such a temporal phenomenon.
The constellations and demons—only those of great rank could do it.
The Holy Empire had plenty of records about demons and constellations, so maybe there was a lead.
‘…And besides demons and constellations, there are others who can cause regression.’
Chris thought heavily.
‘The Demon King and the Archmage.’
He recalled his previous meeting with the Archmage.
It felt like staring into an endless abyss.
The Archmage and the Demon King possessed power comparable to the great ranks of the Dark Heavens, so they could cause regression.
‘For now, I’ll have to investigate from the Mage Empire side. If I succeed in becoming the lord of the Four Kings’ Castle as planned, I might find a clue.’
The Four Kings’ Castle had been a key player in the world’s destruction in his previous life, so it was likely to hold truths he didn’t know.
“The reversal of the timeline? That’s the first I’ve heard of it. I’ll ask the ‘Guardian.’ If anyone knows, it would be the Saint.”
The Guardian of the Holy Prison.
One of the Seven Saints, the superhumans of the Alliance’s nine stars, who guarded the Saint Palace.
By the way, the Seven Saints were also called ‘Saints’ in contrast to the Demon Kings.
The Guardian of the Holy Prison was one of the strongest among the Seven Saints, but bound by restrictions that prevented him from leaving the Saint Palace unless the Holy Empire faced a crisis of destruction.
After that, Estanya left, and Chris took a deep breath, gulping down his strawberry juice.
‘Damn it.’
When he first regressed, he thought it wouldn’t be so hard.
He only had to stop the Four Kings’ Castle and the Blood Demon King. Plus, the mysterious Mage.
But the more he moved forward, the more he realized that wasn’t the case.
The enemies revealed were only part of the truth.
Behind the scenes, massive forces toyed with the world’s fate.
For a moment, he felt overwhelmed, but then shook his head.
‘Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not going to let the world fall like this.’
He deliberately thought of all the good things in the world.
All the delicious food, the drinks.
He hadn’t even properly enjoyed them yet—he couldn’t just let it all be destroyed.
‘Constellations, demons, Demon King—no matter who’s scheming, I’ll stop them all.’
There was only one way.
He had to become stronger.
Not just a powerful Demon King, but strong enough to make constellations, demons, and the Demon King kneel.
‘To do that, I have to successfully finish what I started with the Triangular Alliance.’
Chris wasn’t just planning to take down the Beast King and Hwang Gong.
While doing so, he intended to claim the essences of the Sword King, the Demon Beast, and the Phantom as his own.
To rise higher.
His goal was to master all forms of darkness and light, to create perfect darkness and obtain truly great power.
‘Let’s do this.’
With a fierce gaze, Chris set off toward the Triangular Alliance, reaffirming his resolve.
‘I won’t lose—not for wealth or glory!’
Chris didn’t run straight to the Triangular Alliance.
To save time, he made Ruina do the work.
“Ahhh! Am I some kind of shuttle service? Using this teleportation relic costs a fortune!”
“If you do well in the Karn Empire, I was going to speak well of you to the Emperor. You want to miss the chance to build connections with the Karn Emperor?”
“Loyalty! Loyalty! Loyalty!!!”
By the way, Chris had made a secret pact with Aslan, the Radiant Sword of the Karn Empire.
Once the Triangular Alliance business was done, he would head straight to the Karn Empire.
“Loyalty is loyalty, but at least pay for the teleportation fees! This stuff is seriously expensive!”
Evan interrupted from the side.
“Lady Ruina, enough with the money talk. It’s getting tiresome.”
“Ahhh! Evan, you really are… you bad guy!”
Evan ignored her and looked at Chris.
“It’s time to part again. See you next time. I’ll be stronger by then—to be of help to you.”
…He was already growing stronger at the speed of light, and now he said he’d get even stronger.
‘If you want to help me, the best thing would be to take the Hero title off my hands.’
Chris vowed to pass the Hero title to Evan someday, then spoke.
“Wait, can you stop by the Sky Magic Tower for me?”
“What for?”
“To deliver this letter to the next Tower Master.”
It was from Lanya.
A future Grand Mage among the nine stars, another member of the hero party.
Evan tilted his head.
It wasn’t a difficult request, but he was curious.
“Are you sure you picked the right envelope?”
“I did.”
“But… isn’t this the kind of envelope used to send duel challenges?”
There was a crossed sword emblem in the center.
It was the traditional form used in the Alliance to issue duel challenges.
“Since it’s a duel challenge, sending a duel notice is appropriate.”
“!!”
“Well, it’s not like they’re actually going to fight—it’s more of a debate battle between wizards.”
Evan opened the envelope with Chris’s permission and fell silent for a moment.
Inside was a message:
As a hero, someone as unqualified as you cannot be recognized as the successor of the Sky Tower.
Try to solve the riddle I’ve written below. If you can’t even manage that, it would be better for your future to give up being a wizard.
Chris thought to himself, They want Lanya to grow up fast so they can exploit her. They can’t wait until we meet again.
Meanwhile, Evan, using his insight, caught a glimpse of Chris’s true thoughts.
As expected, this is all for the sake of the world. He’s willingly playing the villain for Lanya’s growth. Always easy to misunderstand him. I’ll keep your true intentions safe.
Evan nodded resolutely.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Chris hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Could you check if a new gumiho has appeared on the Alliance’s side?”